Cheesy Eggplant And Beef Bolognese Baked Pasta Recipes

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; cook pork sausage, breaking it onto smaller pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add ground beef; cook and stir until beef is browned and crumbly, about 5 minutes. Drain excess fat.
• Pour remaining olive oil over sausage mixture; add eggplant, onion, garlic, salt, and black pepper. Cook and stir until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and continuing cooking until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Mix crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, parsley, oregano, and basil into sausage mixture; bring to a boil. Cover Dutch oven, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Add both cans of tomatoes and 1 cup water. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat slightly, add the basil and simmer rapidly, uncovered, until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Discard the basil and season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and crispy, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl using a slotted spoon. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the eggplant to the pancetta drippings and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the pancetta.
• Cook the cavatappi in the salted boiling water until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package directions. Drain the pasta and add it to the bowl with the pancetta and eggplant.
• Add the tomato sauce, half of the mozzarella and half of the Parmesan to the bowl and stir well to combine. Transfer the pasta mixture to a 3- to 4-quart baking dish and top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, until browned, about 15 minutes. Let the pasta stand about 10 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cook rigatoni according to package instructions but keep it slightly more al dente. Reserve 1 1/2 cups pasta cooking water, then drain and rinse pasta under cold water, and transfer to a large bowl while you cook the eggplant.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium. Add half the eggplant, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until golden brown on all sides, 9 to 10 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the rigatoni. Repeat with 2 tablespoons olive oil and remaining eggplant and transfer to the bowl.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet over medium. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in red-pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper. Add tomatoes and their juices, crushing the tomatoes with your hands as you add them. Cook until the tomatoes are very soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the reserved pasta cooking water, adding up to 1 1/2 cups as needed to create a silky sauce.
• If the skillet is large enough, add the rigatoni and eggplant mixture, Parmesan, 1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup basil and toss to coat. Otherwise, add the tomato sauce, Parmesan, 1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup basil to the large bowl with the rigatoni and eggplant, toss to coat and then return to the skillet or transfer to a greased baking dish.
• Top with remaining 3 cups mozzarella and bake until the sauce is bubbling on the sides and the cheese is melted, about 25 minutes. Top with grated ricotta salata and torn fresh basil to serve.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Peel the eggplants lengthwise in 1-inch intervals to create stripes. Slice each eggplant crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds then cut each round into 1/2-inch dice.
• Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over high heat until it begins to shimmer. Add half of the eggplant and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring constantly, until the eggplant takes on some color and becomes soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer the eggplant to a rimmed baking sheet and spread in an even layer. Repeat with another 3 tablespoons of oil and the remaining eggplant.
• Transfer the eggplant to the oven and bake until very soft, stirring or flipping once, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
• While the eggplant bakes, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a Dutch oven over high heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the chile flakes and cook, stirring again, for another 30 seconds.
• Stir in the wine, bring to a boil and cook until completely reduced, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and sugar, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook until the tomatoes begin to soften and break down, about 15 minutes. Using a potato masher, coarsely mash the tomatoes and let cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened, about 15 minutes longer.
• Fold the eggplant, basil and oregano into the sauce. Add the pasta and some of the Parmigiano-Reggiano; toss to coat with the sauce, adding some of the reserved pasta water, as needed, to thin the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to shallow bowls and serve, passing the remaining Parmigiano at the table.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Brush eggplant slices with olive oil on both sides, and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle garlic powder over the top. Bake for 10 minutes.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, tomatoes and spinach. Cook and stir for a few minutes until fragrant, and the tomatoes have released their juices. In a medium bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Set aside.
• Place the eggplant slices in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Top with the spinach mixture. Spoon the cheese mixture over the spinach, and spread into a thin layer. Pour the spaghetti sauce over the cheese layer. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese over the top. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
• Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until heated through and the eggplant is easily pierced with a fork.